Air seeders are the typical implement used by farmers to seed their fields and apply fertilizer and chemicals in one operation. These air seeders typically comprise a laterally extending furrow opener implement mounted on wheels with a plurality of ground engaging furrow openers mounted on the implement and spaced across the width thereof. Product tanks for carrying various agricultural products such as seed, fertilizer, and chemicals can be mounted on the implement, or commonly on a separate tank cart towed either behind the implement, or between the implement and a tractor pulling the air seeder. Modern air seeders typically have three, four, or even five product tanks to carry the various agricultural products required for a seeding operation. The agricultural products are transferred from the product tanks to the furrow openers by an air stream. Row crop planter type air seeders may have small seed compartments above each furrow opener that are kept filled by an air stream carry product from a product tank.
A typical air seeder is disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 8,974,170 to Ryder et al. Such air seeders are increasing in width in response to the increasing demand from farmers for ways to reduce the time required to seed their crops. Along with the wider implements, the size of the agricultural product tanks has grown as well in order to reduce the need to stop the air seeder and fill the tanks. Typically air seeders include a fill conveyor mounted adjacent to the tanks which is movable from a transport position hanging on the tank cart when the air seeder is operating, to an operating position with an intake end on the ground accessible to the discharge from a transport vehicle and a discharge end oriented to direct conveyed product into fill openings of the various tanks. While in the operating position the fill conveyor must be maneuvered to orient the discharge end into the different fill openings.
Ryder discloses such a fill conveyor, and discloses mounting system to facilitate maneuvering the conveyor from the transport position to the operating position, and from one tank fill opening to another. Considerable effort has been directed at facilitating such movement, as the fill conveyor have also increased in size and weight. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,794,900 and 8,801,353 to Friggstad et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 7,500,814 to Meyer.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,573,917 to Renyer and United States Patent Application Number 20060180062 of Furrer et al. disclose seed tenders for moving agricultural products from storage to the air seeder. These comprise essentially one or more hoppered containers and a conveyor system for receiving product from each container. The tender is driven alongside the seeding implement and the conveyor discharge can then discharge into seed boxes on conventional drills or can be elevated to discharge directly into fill openings of the air seeder tanks.
Convey-all industries Inc. of Winkler, Manitoba, Canada also makes a trailer with a plurality of containers and a horizontal conveyor running under the container to receive product from each container, and an inclined conveyor at the rear of the trailer to receive the product from the horizontal conveyor and direct same into the fill openings of the air seeder tanks. The trailer is towed by a highway tractor and moved in reverse toward the air seeder tanks. Moving in reverse allows the Convey-all™ seed handling system to fill tanks on tank carts that are towed between the tractor and the laterally extending furrow opener implement.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,765,944 to Wilson discloses a weight sensor for product tanks on seeding implements such as grain drills and air seeder. United States Published Patent Application Number 2014/0216315 of the present inventor Beaujot discloses a weight sensor that weighs individual product tanks. These sensors allow an operator to know the weight of each product carried on the seeder. United States Published Patent Application Number 2014/0343723 of Meier et al. discloses a bin spill prevention system operative to close the discharge gate of a truck that is discharging into a conveyor on receiving an indication that a bin receiving product from the conveyor is full.